Southampton, England, February 20, 2002 2200 GMT
End Of A Long Day For News Corp
On the last miles, News Corp had to beat into headwinds after the wind
shifted over the last several hours all the way to the north-northeast. A
relieved crew took down the sails after crossing the finish line, knowing
that they have made the best that was possible under the circumstances.
News Corp sailed a strong leg, always close to the leading yacht illbruck,
until the first disaster struck when they hit a growler on the morning of
February 7. A shocked crew turned the boat to the northeast and made her
way to warmer latitudes to escape the strong grip of the ice. There they
pushed hard and moved up in the standings again. But too much damage was
done to the rudder and it finally failed on February 14, 1250 miles from
the finish in Rio. Within two hours the yacht was back on her way to Rio
under emergency rudder.
After arriving, Ross Field gave evidence about the collision with the
iceberg: “This was the worst danger I have been in, very dangerous. I was
seriously worried, but I mean, we kept hammering on.”
Amer Sports Too is still sailing in favourable southeasterly winds,
expected to finish at 0500 GMT.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 25, 2200 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR ETA PO
7 ATOO 24 38.20S 044 17.36W 00064 033 09.4 216 21 FEB 02 05:00 7
Overall position after four legs pending protests
PS Yacht Leg 4 points Arrival Time Elapsed Time Combined Time PO Overall Pos.
1 ILBK 8 19 FEB 02 05:58:42 023d 05h 58m 42s 085d 16h 33m 38s 29 1
2 DJCE 7 19 FEB 02 11:52:42 023d 11h 52m 42s 092d 06h 23m 59s 17 6
3 TYCO 6 19 FEB 02 13:04:52 023d 13h 04m 52s - 18 5
4 AART 5 19 FEB 02 14:22:21 023d 14h 22m 21s 089d 18h 56m 07s 20 3
5 AONE 4 19 FEB 02 14:50:55 023d 14h 50m 55s 086d 08h 41m 09s 22 2
6 NEWS 3 20 FEB 02 21:55:10 024d 21h 55m 10s 088d 20h 04m 50s 19 4
Southampton, England, February 20, 2002 1600 GMT
Total Dedication on News Corp
Even though disappointed with the result of this leg, News Corp stays
focused on achieving a top overall position in the race. For the next leg
to Miami Ross Field predicted the will to win, stronger then ever. The
reason for carrying on without the rudder and the emergency steering in
place instead was the two extra points they get when finishing the leg. A
sixth place will reward the effort with three points opposed to one when
retiring.
Lisa McDonald’s girls on Amer Sports Too are fully aware that anything can
happen in yacht racing and that a race is over when the last yacht has
crossed the finish line. Therefore, no matter what the weather predictions
say, they carry on racing News Corp and pushing as hard as they can.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 25, 1552 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 ILBK 22 54.75S 043 09.40W 0 000 00.0 000 0 +0 19 FEB 02 5:58 29
2 DJCE 22 54.75S 043 09.40W 0 000 00.0 000 0 +0 19 FEB 02 11:52 17
3 TYCO 22 54.75S 043 09.40W 0 000 00.0 000 0 +0 19 FEB 02 13:04 18
4 AART 22 54.75S 043 09.40W 0 000 00.0 000 0 +0 19 FEB 02 14:22 20
5 AONE 22 54.75S 043 09.40W 0 000 00.0 000 0 +0 19 FEB 02 14:50 22
6 NEWS 23 24.40S 043 38.24W 41 040 08.0 187 0 +0 20 FEB 02 20:55 19
7 ATOO 24 38.20S 044 17.36W 121 025 08.5 228 80 -3 21 FEB 02 07:03 7
8 TSEB Retired - - - - - - - - 12
Overall position after four legs pending protests
PS Yacht Leg 4 points Arrival Time Elapsed Time Combined Time PO Overall Pos.
1 ILBK 8 19 FEB 02 05:58:42 023d 05h 58m 42s 085d 16h 33m 38s 29 1
2 DJCE 7 19 FEB 02 11:52:42 023d 11h 52m 42s 092d 06h 23m 59s 17 6
3 TYCO 6 19 FEB 02 13:04:52 023d 13h 04m 52s - 18 5
4 AART 5 19 FEB 02 14:22:21 023d 14h 22m 21s 089d 18h 56m 07s 20 3
5 AONE 4 19 FEB 02 14:50:55 023d 14h 50m 55s 086d 08h 41m 09s 22 2
Leaderboard
PS Yacht Points
1 illbruck 29
2 Amer Sports One 22
3 ASSA ABLOY 20
4 News Corp 19
5 Tyco 18
6 Djuice 17
7 SEB 12
8 Amer Sports Too 7
Southampton, England, February 20, 2002 1000 GMT
Relief For News Corp
For the first time in the last days, News Corp was moving faster than Amer
Sports Too. With the wind going light again the chances for Amer Sports
Too to overtake News Corp are diminishing.
News Corp reported a scary experience with a waterspout, developing right
above their heads with the funnel coming right down on them. The yacht
managed to avoid it be a mere 50 metres, dangerous even if much smaller
than the one experienced at Sydney.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 25, 0952 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 ILBK 22 54.75S 043 09.40W 0 000 00.0 000 0 +0 19 FEB 02 5:58 29
2 DJCE 22 54.75S 043 09.40W 0 000 00.0 000 0 +0 19 FEB 02 11:52 17
3 TYCO 22 54.75S 043 09.40W 0 000 00.0 000 0 +0 19 FEB 02 13:04 18
4 AART 22 54.75S 043 09.40W 0 000 00.0 000 0 +0 19 FEB 02 14:22 20
5 AONE 22 54.75S 043 09.40W 0 000 00.0 000 0 +0 19 FEB 02 14:50 22
6 NEWS 24 00.12S 044 13.48W 00089 020 07.7 166 0 +0 20 FEB 02 21:42 19
7 ATOO 25 27.20S 044 31.72W 00170 347 06.7 244 81 +5 21 FEB 02 08:32 7
8 TSEB Retired - - - - - - - - 12
Southampton, England, February 20, 2002 0400 GMT
Catch Me If You Can
Amer Sports Too is sailing in 18 to 20 knots of easterly breeze, very
eager to catch News Corp, who is under emergency rudder only 85 miles
ahead with 129 miles to go to the finish line.
News Corp is sailing in half the wind speed and three to four knots slower
and the girls are coming in with the breeze. In the light conditions, Jez
Fanstone and his crew can sail the boat on maximum performance, but when
the ride is getting too bumpy, they pressure on the rudder could easily
exceed the specifications for the stern hung rudder system. This would
force them to take the throttle back and slow down, leaving them
defenceless against the charging Amer Sports Too, eager to close the gap
to SEB on the leaderboard by another point.
Volvo Ocean Race Position Report, Day 25, 0354 GMT
PS Yacht Latitude Longitude DTF CMG SMG TFHR DTL DTL-C ETA PO
1 ILBK 22 54.75S 043 09.40W 0 000 00.0 000 0 +0 19 FEB 02 5:58 29
2 DJCE 22 54.75S 043 09.40W 0 000 00.0 000 0 +0 19 FEB 02 11:52 17
3 TYCO 22 54.75S 043 09.40W 0 000 00.0 000 0 +0 19 FEB 02 13:04 18
4 AART 22 54.75S 043 09.40W 0 000 00.0 000 0 +0 19 FEB 02 14:22 20
5 AONE 22 54.75S 043 09.40W 0 000 00.0 000 0 +0 19 FEB 02 14:50 22
6 NEWS 24 46.00S 044 20.56W 129 002 07.4 146 0 +0 20 FEB 02 22:23 19
7 ATOO 26 13.24S 044 35.52W 214 021 10.1 255 85 -10 21 FEB 02 02:29 7
8 TSEB Retired - - - - - - - - 12
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